Miracle
"Miracle" is the 15th episode of the second season of Exosquad. Summary The ExoFleet has taken Venus, but the Neosapien Fleet, with Phaeton in command, prepares to counterattack. Barca sabotages the Resolute II, putting them in a precarious position. With Marsala pretending to be a Neo soldier who carries information about Draconis' plot against Phaeton, Able Squad boards The Olympus Mons II and cripples it. Algernon has since repaired the Resolute II, which proceeds to finish off The Olympus Mons II. Draconis escpaes, leaving behind Phaeton to be killed. When he returns to Earth with plans of ruling himself, he is met by the real Phaeton (the other was just a clone), who has him taken away, likely to be executed. Synopsis :Click HERE of a detailed synopsis of " " Characters *J.T. Marsh *Marsala Quotes *When Marsh asks Marsala how he knew Phaeton would let them dock if he claimed to have proof of a Draconis plot Marsala responds: ::"Phaeton has chosen to rule through fear. But when everyone fears you, you must fear everyone." *Phaeton, when his guards are shot by Draconis' men, demands an explanation. Draconis responds, ::"A short while ago, you called me a traitor. Apparently, you were right." *The real Phaeton, talking to Draconis at the end, ::"Is science not miraculous? I can duplicate any Neosapien. I even have a spare Draconis or two. Take him away." Significant events, revelations, and other notes *In the below 3 episodes, the flagships are the only targets that truly matter. Once the flagship is destroyed, it is assumed or proven that the rest of the fleet will retreat. **"Miracle" **"Fire Ship" **"The Price of Courage" *In the episodes "Miracle" and "The Price of Courage" Exofleet does not even consider using the GRAF Shield on Venus for defense. Were the Neosapien fleets in those episodes out of range? **Exofleet could have remained in the orbit of Venus and used the GRAF Shield, upgraded by the Neo Megas, to destroy a Neosapien attack. As seen in "Sabotage", the shield can be directed to a target. In "The Embassy" Phaeton says attacking a GRAF Shield is suicide. **Winfield's order for evacuating Venus implies that the Neosapiens damaged the shield. *The Neosapien fleet has taken serious losses, foremost amongst them the flagship the Olympus Mons II. **The amazement about the size of the Olympus Mons II, first seen in "Venus Rising", is justified. Only the Resolute II is able to inflict fatal damage. Other capital ships seen have taken fatal damage from E-frame attacks. Furthermore, Simbacca uses the Cloaking Device to spare the Resolute II a sustained counterattack. **Similiar surpise about a ship's size is shown when Able Squad discovers the Resolute II in "Inner Dark". **The size of the Olympus Mons II could be a reference to the Super Star Destroyer from the "Star Wars" universe. *Marsala’s comment about Phaeton having to fear everyone and everything resembles a sentence from Niccolò Machiavelli’s “The Prince” written in “Chapter XIX: That One Should Avoid Being Despised and Hated”. Robert Greene uses this quote in his book “The 33 Strategies of War” in section “31: Destroy From Within: The Inner Front Strategy”. *The Exofleet has successfully repulsed the first Neosapien counterattack on Venus. *Why is Barca still working for Phaeton? As seen in "Miracle" and "Fire Ship", he is promised Venus instead of Mars. However, Exofleet's victory at Venus and Phaeton's severe losses should have made him reconsider the military power of the Neosapien Commonwealth. Barca's motives seem to be more about personal hatred towards Simbacca and Exofleet than concern for the clans. *Draconis' treachery is revealed, and he is probably executed once he is taken away. Though he is replaced by a clone of himself, his clone never achieves a high post (since Phaeton doesn't trust him either) and is eventually executed. *We see that Phaeton does not trust his generals, and the stockpile of clones he has to replace them with is refered to. *Why does Draconis assume that he will take ascend to leadership of the Neosapien Commonwealth? **Shiva is regarded as the best of the generals, and is likely closest to the soldiers stationed on Earth. In "Night of the Traitor" we see there are others with designs on Phaeton's position. **Typhonus is the Battle Minister, is in charge of the Neosapien home planet Mars, and has been shown to aspire to the post. **Livia is Phaeton's closest advisor, and the Commanding General of Earth. **Draconis meanwhile has lost his power base, and was never close enough to Phaeton to attain credibility that way. His fleet and troops are destroyed, dead, or stranded on Venus, while the others still have theirs intact. I guess it just makes his fall from grace when he encounters Phaeton that much more potent. It should be noted that Draconis's ego has been demonstrated in many episodes. He assumed he would become the new leader simply because his ego blinded him to the option of failure. 29 16